It's so nice to welcome Victoria van der Laan back under the CraftyMonkies spotlight for an exciting and BRAND NEW class she has created just for us! Her last class, Sketching With Scraps was so popular, she wanted to create something similar but different! This time she is sketching with one of your favourite shapes: the Triangle! Take it away Victoria!...

 

Introduction by Victoria:-

Three years of a daily patchwork sketching practice have taught me so much about patchwork composition and construction and I’m excited to share some of the techniques I’ve developed with my favourite shape in this upcoming class! In my last CraftyMonkies class, Sketching with Scraps, I shared broadly about my intuitive approach to improv scrap play using a completely open approach and quick decision making. In this class I will show you a more intentional side to my sketching practice as we take a deep dive into the many possibilities of triangles in improv patchwork.

 

What You Will Learn in this Online Interactive Workshop:-

Set aside the rules and expectations of traditional quilt design and allow your intuition and the materials at hand to guide your work! Working with both traditional patchwork block construction and an open, improvisational approach I’ll show you how I build compositions with triangles. We’ll explore loose half square/half rectangle triangles, flying geese, and freeform triangles to create small compositions that can be auditions of ideas for larger quilts, low-stakes practice in working with color, scale, and form, or simply playful experiments to stretch our creative muscles, opening endless possibilities in a myriad of unexpected ways! This is a process-based workshop without a specific end product but we will discuss finishing options including stretching over a canvas.

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During the class I will share a bit about my own textile sketching practice and my general approach to experimenting with patchwork design. We'll dig into our scrap bins and fabric stashes to find and create triangle units to work with, talk about different ways to sort our scraps to facilitate this work, and start sewing!  The end goal with this practice is not necessarily a finished quilt or art piece but rather a deeper understanding of piecing techniques, color interaction, and design ideas for future quilts. It's about the process not the product, though we'll also discuss what we can do with our sketches. This is a great way to use up your scraps from past projects while developing your voice as an artist and quilter.

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As always I am happy to answer questions as they arise and there are always little opportunities to show you extra techniques and tips during class. I love the exchange of knowledge that happens in class and I often learn new little tricks from students as well--there's always something new to learn and my goal is to create a rich learning environment in my classes!

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Skill Level for this Online Interactive Workshop:-

This workshop is appropriate for quilters at any skill level. Everyone is welcome! The beauty of this process is that it will be different for each artist and can be as rigid or improvisational as you'd like. Everyone will approach it differently with very different outcomes but I believe it can be very rewarding for anyone. I especially encourage those who are reluctant to try an improvisational approach to patchwork - that was me not too long ago!

 

Fabric requirements for this Online Interactive Workshop:-

I'll ask you to bring an assortment of scraps, fat quarters, and small pieces of fabric of any sort. Small (1”- 4”) triangular, square, and rectangular scraps are particularly useful but we can also cut some from larger scraps or yardage. I personally work mainly with solid quilting weight cottons but that doesn't mean you have to! You can stick with quilting cottons or throw in different substrates and weights of fabric to see what happens - we're experimenting!

 

Equipment requirements for this Online Interactive Workshop:-

• Sewing Machine

• Rotary Cutter (with a sharp blade!)

• Cutting Mat

• Neutral Thread

• Iron + Pressing Mat

• Fabric Marking Pen

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Pattern requirements for this Online Interactive Workshop:-

Not applicable for this improv class!

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Tickets for this Online Demonstration (via the Zoom platform) will be limited and allocated on a first-come/first-served basis! The ticket price of £35.00 (approx $40.00) is based on ONE person attending this crafting class.

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This CraftyMonkies online interactive workshop is being broadcast from the United Kingdom and the class time given is based on Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). We advise you check via Google Search (or similar) to see corresponding start-time in YOUR location! Here's a great world time zone reference:-

https://www.worldtimebuddy.com

 

Are you not able to attend this class due to living in a different time-zone? Are you otherwise engaged on the date of this workshop? Well, we have excellent news! This class is being recorded and a link will be sent to all classmates a few days after the class, so you can watch in your own time! You can either attend live or wait for the RECORDING to be sent a few days after the event for you to watch for 60 days. As long as you buy a ticket you can attend or just be sent the recording!

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